Review: 5 Reasons to Fly to TINKER BELL at Milwaukee's First Stage

"When the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies."

From pixie dust to tick-tocking crocodiles, sneaky pirates to Lost Boys, Peter Pan is a beloved story that's been told every which way. There are movie, musical, and ballet versions. Versions told from the perspective of Wendy, playwright J.M. Barrie, even a grown-up Pan. In First Stage's Tinker Bell, we see Pan's journey through the eyes of his tiny, trusty sidekick. Here are 5 reasons her point of view is worth a peek.

(1) Inventive staging lights up imagination
With Tinker Bell's inner light at the heart of her story, imaginative effects by Lighting Designer Jason Fassl find ample time to shine. When the figurative curtain rises on the Todd Wehr black box theater, a lone edison bulb beams from center stage. The fairies hold brilliant orbs that flicker, dim, or glow something fierce with the press of a button. Showers of golden light act as a luminous sprinkling of pixie dust for actors and audience alike.

As the island of Neverland comes alive, simple props bring the stage to life. Pop! opens one polka dot umbrella after another (whimsical mushrooms, of course). Pop! comes a bouquet of floral-lined umbrellas (tremendous Never-blooms, naturally). Scenic design by Sarah Hunt-Frank hits the perfect playful note.

Whenever the children take flight, they either brandish sweet little puppets, acting out their skyward journey in miniature, or they're carried by the ensemble. Director Jeff Frank explains in his director's note: "We took inspiration from Japanese theater techniques, using kokens (actors who set elements, props, puppets, and even other actors to bring moments to life) to lift our actors and create not just the illusion of flight-but a magical life to the entire show."

(2) Young leading ladies shine mighty bright
On Sunday afternoon of opening weekend, I had the pleasure of seeing the Dream Cast, starring Meguire Hennes as Tinker Bell and Anna Fitzsimmons as Peter Pan. What spot-on, poised, and powerful performances. Fitzsimmons is as good a Pan as any - immensely likable, confident, and brash, but also endearingly innocent and lost.

As for Tink, Hennes makes for a feisty, nervy little fairy. From shouting-match anger to quiet contemplation on what it is to be a friend, Hennes and her big swings of emotion command attention. You can tell she's having fun playing the famous fairy, and that contagious energy is a real treat.

(3) Laughs that surprise and delight
One of my favorite things about seeing theater at First Stage is finding out what really gets kids laughing. First off, this is a smart play that bandies about words like "ennui" and "epiphany" - words that surely sail over younger heads. But what's not lost on the kiddos is slapstick humor and well-paced fight scenes, smartly choreographed by Christopher Elst.

For instance, on that Sunday afternoon when the yellow-bellied villain Captain Hook (Ryan Schabach) stubbed his toe and fell flat on his face mid-skirmish, the kiddos in the Todd Wehr audience shrieked with laughter.

When Tink suggested to a homesick Peter that she could be his mother, a little one a few rows over burst out laughing at the very notion. I found myself chuckling not only at the witty writing of Tinker Bell, but also at the reactions of the youngsters in the audience. Be sure to stick around for the post-show talk back; it's just as fun to hear the kids' questions as it is to hear them laugh.

(4) A story of friendship that speaks to kids
"Children know such a lot now," wrote Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie. They do know an awful lot, and they are capable of grasping more than adults sometimes give them credit for. First Stage does an incredible job of bringing works to life that not only entertain but also get kids thinking and relating the events on stage to their own lives and big emotions.

There's a moment where Tinker Bell sits quietly with Mr. Smee (Chris Klopatek) and ponders friendship. How can you be cross with someone and still care for them underneath it all? That, Smee explains, is friendship. Being there for someone, loving someone, and caring even when you're cross. In moments like these, one might think the young audience would get impatient for another battle or bit of pixie dust. But they pay attention and, surely, retain "such a lot."

(5) Peter Pan never gets old
Peter Pan is truly eternal. It's a story that has charmed people young and old for over 100 years. Fairies, flying, an enchanted island, swashbuckling pirates, sassy mermaids, the thought of staying young forever - such magical themes never grow old. Kids still eat it up, and parents can take comfort in the nostalgia of it all. Do you believe in fairies? Clap if you believe!

Photo credit: Paul Ruffolo

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